Square Enix was founded on 22September 1975 and was originally named Enix.
In September 1986 the company’s name changed to Square Co. until 1 April 2003, when Square Enix was formed as the result of a merger between Square and Enix.
As a part of this merger, the former Square president, Yoichi Wada, was appointed president of the new corporation and former Enix president, Keiji Honda, took up the role as vice president. Yasuhiro Fukushima, who is the founder of Enix, is currently serving as the largest shareholder and honorary chairman of the corporation.
Former game publisher Eidos Interactive, who were best known for publishing the Thief, Hitman, Deus Ex and Tomb Raider video game series, were absorbed into Square Enix Europe on 22 April 2009, in which the acquisition was completed. The company also owns Taito Corporation, who are largely known for the Bubble Bobble and Space Invaders arcade games. This was finalised in March 2010.
Acquisitions and Partnerships:
- April 1, 2003 – Square Enix formed in a merger between Square Co., Ltd. and the Enix Corporation.
- July 2003 – Square Enix relocated its headquarters to Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo.
- March 2004 – Square Enix acquired UIEvolution, Inc. in order to strengthen its wireless market.
- January 2005 – Square Enix founded Square Enix (China) Co., Ltd (China), expanding their interests in the People’s Republic of China (the company also has a controlling interest in Community Network Software Engine of Beijing, China which focuses on network middle-ware for gaming).
- August 22, 2005 – Square Enix announced its acquisition of the gaming developer and publisher, Taito Corporation, renowned for their arcade hits, such as Space Invaders and the Bubble Bobble series.
- September 28, 2005 – The acquisition of Taito is completed.
- week of September 5, 2006 – Square Enix sued for breaking a contract with Soft-World International December 2007 – UIEvolution splits from Square Enix to become an independent company.
- August 29, 2008 – Square Enix made plans for a friendly takeover of Tecmo by purchasing shares at a 30 percent premium with a total bid of 22.3 billion yen.
- September 4, 2008 – Square Enix withdrew their offer after Tecmo rejected the proposed takeover. Pure Dreams series formed.
- October 1, 2008: Square Enix transforms into a holding company and is renamed into Square Enix Holdings. At the same time the gaming, contents and publishing businesses are transferred to a spin-off named Square Enix, sharing the same corporate leadership and offices with the holding.
- February 12, 2009 – Square Enix Holdings announced a takeover deal worth £84.3 million (32p per share) for Eidos plc, the the holding company for Eidos Interactive, the UK-based publisher of the Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief and Legacy of Kain franchises.
- April 22, 2009 – The acquisition of Eidos is completed.
- March 11, 2010 – All games that Taito Corporation has published for home consoles and portable systems are now handled by Square Enix.
- June 17, 2013 – Square Enix started a mobile studio called Smileworks in Indonesia led by Hiroaki Kanamura. Its focus is original content for mobile devices including iOS, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia.